Ever Wondered What a Vampire Death Looked Like on the Set of HBO’s True Blood?

With the 11th November 2014 release date for True Blood: The Complete Series and True Blood: The Complete Seventh Season, there has been a flurry of competition activity in relation to this final event in the life (and death) of True Blood. But what extras are included?

Well, the sneak peek video entitled Tricks of the Trade has just been released to whet your appetite. The clip features Kristin Bauer van Straten (Pamela Swynford De Beaufort), Alexander Skarsgard (Eric Northman), and Karolina Wydra (Violet) and shows some of the behind the scenes work that goes into making True Blood so magic for the audience.

Check Out Sookie’s Clothes and Tara’s Fangs:

If you are in the Brownwood area of Texas leading up to Halloween, why not check out some authentic props and costumes from the set of HBO’s True Blood? Depot Liquor has the following items on display:

Items belonging to Tara Thornton (Rutina Wesley). Included is a slightly bloodied Vamp Camp suit and Rutina’s set of prosthetic fangs.

A pair of bloody sunglasses that Jason Stackhouse (Ryan Kwanten) wore in Season 5.

A full glass of wine from Eric Northman’s (Alexander Skarsgard) Fangtasia bar.

One empty Tru Blood bottle.

This display has only just opened up for the general public and are items were purchased through the True Blood props and costumes auction held back in August 2014. You can also participate in a True Blood themed taste testing at Depot Liquor. All the details are below:

The Depot Liquor gang [located at 1001 Vine Street in Brownwood], being huge fans of the show, is hosting a True Blood themed taste testing from 1:00 p.m. – 5:00 p.m. on Saturday, October 25th. The public, ages 21 and over, are invited to come in costume and to enjoy the tasting. So plan to dress up and visit Depot Liquor to see a part of Hollywood come to Brownwood and enjoy a little Halloween fun on Saturday.

Kristin Talks About Pam and Eric’s Ending in the HBO True Blood Finale:

It seems for a show like HBO’s True Blood, there was much to cry about with Season 7. Besides the fact this would be the vampire show’s final season ever, many of the characters either lost their lives or had to deal with the loss of those loved ones.

But there was one story line that got a truly happy ending; that of vampires Pam (Kristin Bauer van Straten) and her maker, Eric Northman (Alexander Skarsgard). For Kristin, though, she had no idea where her character might end up by the end of Episode 10 (entitled Thank You):

It was a total surprise to me. I had no idea, and I tried to not have expectations, because that’s how you keep your sanity as an actress. I was just happy to be still on the show. You can never tell with an HBO show where it’s gonna go. To get to spend all that time with Alexander, have Eric and Pam together, and then to have so many varied emotions to play throughout the whole season? We’ve had the highest highs we’ve had in any year, and the lowest of lows we’ve had in any year. For an actress, it was a dream.

With Eric and Pam now running a giant corporation and selling their stolen New Blood product, what did Kristin think the moral to their story was?

The main thing that I felt was that Pam and Eric really do have an unconditional love that really does endure. In my mind, it was an immortal connection. That was what I really began playing from fairly early on, but it didn’t really sink in until year three when we saw Pam’s vulnerable side and when Eric was possibly dying. Because Alex and I got along, it really helped, and this last year, it was just really kind of a true love story that transcended a romantic relationship even.

Another person within her story arc also got a happy ending, that of Ginger (Tara Buck). Many fans have wondered how Pam might have reacted to this. Kristin had this to say:

There was a draft where she did have a reaction. He walks back into the office, and instead of not finding Pam, Pam said, “Did you just have sex with her?” I think Pam said something like, “I always thought it would’ve been louder.” [Laughs] Pam was a little surprised that there wasn’t the Ginger scream, which of course was the writers’ joke, that for once she didn’t scream. It was too much.

You can read the full interview Kristin Bauer van Straten did with Entertainment Weekly by clicking here.

What did you think of Pam and Eric’s story line? Let us know your thoughts by commenting below!

HBO’s True Blood Wrapped up This Week with Season 7:

In the finale of HBO’s long running vampire series, True Blood, it turned out Sookie Stackhouse (Anna Paquin) only needed to chose herself. While both Team Eric and Team Bill fans alike were disappointed Sookie ended up with some random stranger, for show runner, Brian Buckner, there was never a doubt:

The deal was we wanted Bill to be correct when he said that Sookie can have a normal life. The twist, of course, being that Sookie chose to keep her power and specialness and persevere despite his belief that she couldn’t be OK without giving up her powers. Charlaine [Harris] took a lot of abuse for choosing Sam [Sam Trammell]. We felt like it was irrelevant who Sookie wound up with. What we wanted to know was that she was happy and living the life she wanted to lead. To introduce some other stranger in the last five minutes of the finale wouldn’t have made a lot of sense. So, we made a choice to say it’s “every man,” it doesn’t matter.

Besides Sookie’s story being concluded, Bill’s (Stephen Moyer) story also saw an ending – by way of the true death. Since the Season 7 finale, many people have been questioning whether this was the right decision to make on a show that has strongly drawn an allegory between vampires and the gay community. Brian addressed this matter with the following statement:

I’ve done some thinking about this one. What I will say to that is yes, True Blood is an allegory about otherness, but when you read a novel that is allegorical, it’s usually about one character. To maintain allegorical correctness across the board with 20 characters is sometimes impossible. You have to pick a center. So, for us in this story line, I think it’s obvious from the seven years that Sookie and Bill were not meant to be [in] true love forever. So now you’ve got to pick whose otherness you’re going to protect. I think the allegory to be protected was Sookie’s.

Then Brian had to justify the fact that for a series that’s staple was sex and violence, there was surprisingly no nudity in the season finale:

I know our show has made its living on sex and gore and violence, but without story that all takes on the feeling of a snuff film. The director, Scott Winant, put in better words than I could. He said I get what you’re doing here. If you’re going to go bigger and bolder than you’ve ever been, then where are you going to go. And so the more surprising ending here is this intimate, small, beautiful story of these people in a small town… To me, you want to know that these people are going to be OK.

How well did you think Brian Buckner handled the True Blood finale? Let us know your thoughts by commenting below!

Check Out These Photo’s of the True Blood Cast From BEFORE They Were on True Blood:

For many True Blood fans, the HBO vampire series introduced them to some amazing new actors. However, these actors weren’t all fresh from acting school. Some, like Denis O’Hare (who played villain Russell Edgington) had starred in many, many TV shows and movies before they were introduced to truebies via True Blood.

So lets have a look at some of them via Mashable’s recent list:

Before Anna Paquin was a telepathic waitress called Sookie Stackhouse, she won an Oscar when she was only a child in a movie called The Piano:

Stephen Moyer starred as Prouix the Architect in Quills alongside Geoffrey Rush and Kate Winslet long before he took on the role Bon Temps resident vampire Bill Compton:

Alexander Skaragard starred in many Swedish movies before starring as a male model called Meekus in Zoolander. However, his earliest role was that of Kalle Nubb in Åke och hans värld (Åke and His World). Of course, we all know him now as the 1000 year old viking vampire, Eric Northman:

Before Ryan Kwanten was a dimwitted southern deputy called Jason Stackhouse, he starred as Vinnie in a long time recurring role on Australia’s Home and Away:

Rutina Wesley may be known as Tara Thornton, the bestie of Sookie who managed to die twice in True Blood, but before that she was Raya Green in How She Move:

And as for Kristin Bauer van Straten who plays vampire Pam? Well, she will forever go down in history as Jillian, the woman with man hands in Seinfeld:

What Would You Rate as the Best and Worst Sex Scenes in HBO’s True Blood?

It’s hard to pick just a few stand out sex scenes in HBO’s True Blood – considering just how many have been dished up to us over the last seven years. But, after much research, here’s my top six list:

BEST: Ginger (Tara Buck) and Eric Northman (Alexander Skarsgard) finally get it on atop Eric’s throne in Fangtasia. Yep, I really didn’t think this hook up in Season 7 would be as thoroughly entertaining as it turned out to be. I’m not sure if it was Ginger’s undeniable glee, or the fact that she is just so damn excited that she is over and done with in a matter of seconds or if it’s because it was very obviously a nod to the whole vampire fangirldom out there.

WORST: Bill Compton (Stephen Moyer) and Lorena Krasiki (Mariana Klaveno) get bendy in Season 3. This one was just plain weird. And it made me want to throw up in my mouth just a little. Even just thinking about Bill twisting Lorena’s head all the way round as I am typing now is making me nauseous.

WORST: Bill Compton (Stephen Moyer) claws his way out of the grave to have sex with Sookie Stackhouse (Anna Paquin). I am still surprised Sookie didn’t need hospitalization after that romp. All that dirt, and in all the wrong places…

BEST: Jason Stackhouse has a sex dream about Eric Northman – while he’s in church! Yep, I know after six months the effects of vampire blood on a human has probably worn off, but I’m glad to over look that for the fact that these two hooked up in Season 7.

WORST: Bon Temps has an orgy. Thank you very much Maryann Forrester (Michelle Forbes) for coming to Bon Temps in Season 2 and making me see things that I cannot unsee. Although, on a flip side to this one, we did get a hilarious scene with Jason posing as ‘the god who came’…

What were your best and worst sex scenes from all the seasons of True Blood? Do you think there will be any to rival your faves in the True Blood finale? Let us know your thoughts by commenting below!

How Much Have Our Favorite True Blood Stars Changed From Season 1 to Season 7?

As we lead up to the final episode ever of HBO’s True Blood, let’s take a moment or two to look back over our fave True Blood characters who have managed to survive from Season 1 through to the Season 7 finale, Episode 10 (entitled Thank You) of the hit vampire show:

Sookie Stackhouse (Anna Paquin)

Bill Compton (Stephen Moyer)

It seems consuming the blood of Lilith and then contracting Hep-V has actually improvedBill:

Alexander Skarsgard (Alexander Skarsgard)

He still smoulders, but we sure are glad Eric Northman ditched the long hair:

Pamela Swynford De Beaufort (Kristin Bauer van Straten)

While Pam has had to deal with many time eras via flashbacks, her everyday look has become more casual in Season 7 as opposed to Season 1:

Lafayette Reynolds (Nelsan Ellis)

While his predilection to head scarves have remained (except for that short time when he rocked a modern Mohawk), Lafayette’s addiction to eyelashes and accessories has grown:

Sam Merlotte (Sam Trammell)

Sam is sporting a few more grey hairs and a less structured style than in Season 1:

Arlene Fowler (Carrie Preston)

Gone is the red wig for Arlene. She has also shortened her hair and gone with a darker, less sunset shade of red:

Ginger (Tara Buck)

I thought Ginger had changed more than this over the seven seasons. Besides less eye make up in Season 7, she is still as blonde as ever:

Andy Bellefleur (Chris Bauer)

It seems that Andy has gotten buff since Season 1:

Jason Stackhouse (Ryan Kwanten)

Look how young Jason is in Season 1! Still as chiseled as ever in Season 7 though:

Hoyt Fortenberry (Jim Parrack)

Hoyt is another character who has grown up over the seven seasons, but his darker, broodier Hoyt in Season 7 is certainly more appealing than the puppy that tagged along behind Jason in Season 1:

Jessica Hamby (Deborah Ann Woll)

In Season 1, Jessica Hamby was a 17 year old virgin. In Season 7 Jessica is also a 17 year old virgin, it’s just she’s a vampire now. While she has explored her dark side in previous seasons, Season 7 brings Jessica back to a more innocent version of Jess:

Lettie Mae (Adina Porter)

Lettie Mae has always been partial to a good floral frock (even when passed out drunk), but gone are the hats in Season 7:

Who do you think has changed the most over seven seasons of HBO’s True Blood? Let us know in the comments below!

Tara Buck Describes the Logistics of a Sex Scene with Eric Northman:

Well, wasn’t Episode 9 of HBO’s True Blood Season 7 interesting? For one cast member in particular, it was the climax of a promise made years earlier! If you haven’t watched the episode yet, you can read our recap by clicking here.

In the script, there was a wonderful note: Ginger doesn’t scream. Everybody’s expecting her to scream, so do something else. What they wrote was a high-pitched, almost electric sound that’s almost a little eerie. So we tried all kinds of things. I thought it would be fun if there was a moment where you think Ginger’s actually having a heart attack—you think it could be the end for her.

While Ginger has been an Eric Northman groupie for longer than most of us truebies, she admitted that for Ginger, the anticipation leading up to her sexual encounter with the viking vampire, may have been her very undoing – and why that sex lasted such a short amount of time.

With the deed completed in only a few short moments, in reality, it took hours of filming to get the scene just right. This meant that by the end of the day’s shooting, Tara’s core strength had gotten quite a workout:

I had the stunt double and was thinking to myself, “I only get three pumps. I am not letting somebody else come in here and finish this off.” [Laughs] So the only way to have a dismount is to slowly fall back. In my head, I imagined the funniest thing would be climax and then Ginger just falls out of frame. But we couldn’t shoot it that way. I had imagined a soft pad or something that I could just fall off of him onto. But when we were doing rehearsal, there was no pad there yet. So from the noise—the tea kettle, sort of hissing—she just sloooowly falls backward and then slides off of him. Mostly I slid off of him because I was trying not to get hurt in rehearsal.

Considering Ginger is the ultimate Team Eric groupie, Tara fully admits she ‘took one for the team‘ with last night’s encounter with Eric:

I do love that after everything that Ginger’s been put through, she finally got hers. As an actress who looks after her character, loves her character, feels very emotionally connected and attached, I am proud of Ginger. I feel that she worked very hard for that carrot at the end of the trail, and good for her. I also think Ginger became the archetype for Alexander’s fans, so for all the ladies out there, I took one for the team, and I couldn’t have been happier to do that. [Laughs]

You can read the full interview Tara Buck did with Entertainment Weekly by clicking here.

What did you think of the sex scene between Ginger and Eric in Episode 9 of HBO’s True Blood Season 7? Hilarious or cringe worthy? Let us know by commenting below!

SPOILERS: At Least Pam Makes it to Episode 10!

For many fans of HBO’s True Blood, Season 7 has been particularly hard, knowing it will be the very last one. But, even with our multitude of combined tears, it is pretty obvious that the person most upset with True Blood meeting the true death is Kristin Bauer van Straten (who plays Pam, the vampire with more snark than anyone). But how did she cope with receiving – and reading – the very last script?

It is so funny. We were so heavily immersed in shooting and also night shooting. There were so many moments that were just business as usual, and then it would hit me that we’re coming closer to the end. I saw script 10 in my email and thought, “I’ll bring my iPad so I can read it when I’m in hair.” I didn’t think anything of it.

Then, my makeup artist had a paper copy of the script and said to me, “I skipped to the last couple of pages and read those first.” I thought, “What is she talking about?” Then I realized, “The last few pages? Oh my God.” It hit me so hard I couldn’t read the script. I put off reading it. I couldn’t even confront looking at the first page. It took me a day or two to even go into Adobe Reader and look for my Pam scenes.

So, at least we now know that Pam has scenes in Episode 10 (entitled Thank You). But for this vampire, it has been a tough season, aside from the actor’s grief. Pam has not only had to deal with the death of her progeny and lover, Tara Thornton (Rutina Wesley), but she has been trying to pull her maker, Eric Northman (Alexander Skarsgard) back from the brink of death. In the process, we have seen a more vulnerable side to Pam. One that Kristin was happy to explore:

To have Eric weaker and to know that their time is limited makes Pam more human. We see their child/father relationship. We really don’t have relationships like this as humans. Our relationships can’t be so multi-faceted. You can’t be a lover and then also a maker and a father and an enemy and then go back to being a lover. Also, our human relationships can’t span over a century. I can imagine if I had over a 100 years with my father, who was one of my greatest allies, and that’s something that is hard to lose. It was hard for me to lose my dad after 30 years, much less a 100 years. I can layer that with my friendship with Alex Skarsgard.

While we saw her maker healed in Episode 8 (entitled Almost Home), there still appears to be issues for her to sort out right until the very end of Season 7 with Kristin hinting that Pam is still not over the death of Tara yet. I wonder just how that will unfold?

You can read the full interview Kristin Bauer van Straten did with Comic Book Resources by clicking here.

Could an Original Cast Member Die in Episode 9 of HBO’s True Blood ?

It seems Episode 9 (entitled Love is to Die) will say a final goodbye to yet another original cast member of HBO’s True Blood! But will they die? It seems the devil is in the fine print of what TVGuide had to say about the upcoming episode recently:

With only two episodes to go, there are a lot of narrative threads to tie up, including the issue of Bill [Compton]’s mortality. I will only say this: At least one original cast member will say goodbye for good this week. In possibly related news, a longstanding love triangle will be resolved and you’ll see one of the show’s weirdest — and funniest — sex scenes between a long-unrequited pair.

How interesting is that news? With the admission of a long term love triangle also being resolved, one could assume that with Bill’s (Stephen Moyer) death, Sookie Stackhouse (Anna Paquin) finally chooses Eric Northman (Alexander Skarsgard). Consolation prize anyone? However, there is another love triangle going on at the moment – that of Hoyt Fortenberry (Jim Parrack), Jessica Hamby (Deborah Ann Woll) and Jason Stackhouse (Ryan Kwanten). Perhaps TVGuide are referring to that triangle instead? Maybe Jess and Hoyt get back together and Jessica decides to move to Alaska to be with him? After all, it doesn’t specifically say the cast member will die.

And what of that sex scene, huh? Who do we know on True Blood that is part of an ‘unrequited pair’? Could it be Sookie and Eric? Probably not, since they have been intimate before. But it sure doesn’t leave many other options. Perhaps Arlene (Carrie Preston) and Keith (Riley Smith)? Especially since TVLine had this spoiler to announce:

Not everyone will get a happy ending on True Blood… but I think it’s safe to say that Arlene and Keith will be among the lucky few. Though we’re not going to get another pool table scene, this Sunday’s episode does show the effect Arlene’s relationship with Keith is having on her. (Spoiler Alert: She’s a very happy woman.)

But they haven’t been an item for very long, and many wouldn’t even really consider them as such. Oh, hang on a minute – what about Ginger (Tara Buck) and Eric? Now that would potentially be hilarious and weird!